Compton: Kiting over St. Augustine

Gail Compton

Saturday

Jul 31, 2010 at 12:01 AM

You never know when something will catch your eye and add another experience to your memory. July 14th, I was paying for gas at a station on Anastasia Boulevard when I happened to glance out the window and saw a hawk-sized bird moving against oak trees across the street. The movement identified the bird immediately: it wheeled, skimming the outer leaves of an oak. Up, down, over the top of the tree its black and white attire stood out against the dark greens.

Elegant, graceful, striking, arresting, all adjectives applied to a soaring or kiting bird of prey, the Swallow-tailed Kite (Elanoides forficatus). Its appearance is so striking you can't mistake it for any other bird. The narrow wings and tail are black and the head, breast and leading edges of the underwings are white. Add a long, forked tail and you've got quite a visual experience if you happen to spot one skimming the tops of trees for snakes, lizards, and large insects.

Swallow tails come to Florida early spring and summer to nest and raise young. Soon they'll be leaving to return to areas of Brazil. But in August and July they seem to be attracted to Anastasia Island, perhaps because of increased insect activity. I've often seen them hunting tree tops at the St. Augustine Lighthouse and Museum.

My very first sighting of Swallow tails took place over 30 years ago as I drove down U.S.1 to pick up supplies for a hurricane heading towards northeast Florida. Just ahead of approaching storm clouds, three Swallow-tailed Kites played with strong winds. The slender wings and forked tails made light of winds already gusting to 30 miles an hour. In spite of the strong gusts, the three birds never once flapped their wings, displaying the kiting techniques giving them their name.

Swallow-tails have small beaks and talons and don't go after large prey, but they'll snatch large insects from the air. And if any snake or lizard seeks safety in the outer leaves of tall trees, they themselves become prey to the sharp-eyed Swallow tails. As with all birds of prey, Swallow tails are opportunists and will, in early spring, come down to snatch young nestlings of other birds from their nests.

This time of year they feed up for the long migratory flight to South America and won't be back until early March of next year.

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